Realtor Steve Wickland’s advice for people looking to buy a condominium in downtown Ann Arbor right now: Act fast and be prepared to spend.

Lack of inventory and record-setting sale prices describe the downtown condo market, as more buyers look to live in buildings such as Liberty Lofts, 111 North Ashley, Loft 322 and Ashley Mews.

“I see this upward trajectory that the downtown market has been experiencing over the last two to three years not only continuing, but only expanding,” Wickland said.

Twenty-three condominiums are listed for sale in the downtown Ann Arbor area, with five of those properties under contract, according to data from Ann Arbor’s multiple listing service.

Condos downtown range from the Tower Plaza building on East William Street — where units are listed from $134,800 to $259,000 — to a high-end loft on South Main Street listed for $1.725 million.

Wickland said demand is highest for high-end and newer units, and only a handful of those properties are available. Eight units on the market are located in the Tower Plaza building.

There is one 863-square-foot condo available in 111 N. Ashley at the corner of West Huron and South Ashley streets, listed for $329,500, or $381 per square foot. Ashley Mews on South Main Street has one 1,401-square-foot unit available at $469,450, or $334 per square foot.

The 111 North Ashley building in Ann Arbor, formerly Ashley Terrace, has one condo unit listed for sale right now.Patrick Record | The Ann Arbor News

There are no units available in the following buildings: Liberty Lofts at South First and West William; Loft 322 on East Liberty; The Armory on East Ann; or the William Street Townhomes on West William, where a condo recently sold for $22,500 over the asking price.

Recent sales data shows some downtown condos are selling at record prices.

In the Ashley Mews building, the average sales price per square foot last year was $288, compared to $257 in 2012 and $181 in 2009, according to data compiled by The Bouma Group in Ann Arbor.

A sale pending in the Liberty Lofts building for $579,900, or $351 per square foot, is one of the highest sale prices to-date in the 68-unit building.

A one-bedroom condo in the 111 North Ashley building sold this year for $360,000 — the highest sale price for a one-bedroom unit in the building since it opened in 2008.

Data from Ann Arbor’s multiple listing service shows year-to-date, the average sales price of downtown condos is $314,143 — but Wickland warns that figure is a rough estimate and might not accurately represent all downtown condo sales.

The average sale price of condos in all of Washtenaw County last year was $248,601, up from $210,616 in 2012, according to the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.

“We have incredible demand and nearly no supply on the market,” he said.

He added: “We are seeing prices per square foot for downtown lofts at $433. …This is primarily due to low supply, but not just low supply on the market, but in general, we don’t have enough housing units in downtown Ann Arbor to support demand.”

Milshteyn said it’s not uncommon for downtown condos to sell within hours after being listed, meaning buyers have to be prepared to act quickly and often be willing to pay over the listing price.

Duane Detlor, an Ann Arbor resident who recently purchased a condo in the Liberty Lofts building, said it was a “feeding frenzy” during his seven-month search for a condo in downtown Ann Arbor. Detlor works in Belleville, but wanted to live in a walkable downtown environment with accessible amenities.

“The idea of coming home, parking my car and walking someplace to have all these different experiences, it’s just the way I wanted to live,” he said.

Detlor lost out on an offer on a William Street Townhome when someone bid $22,500 above the listing price. When he saw a unit was listed in Liberty Lofts, he offered $100 above the asking price on the same day he toured the property.

“I knew that when I came into Liberty Lofts, I would need to make an offer that couldn’t get refused,” he said. “It’s just a bidding war. I had to make an offer that was so firm, that I was hoping no one else would bid beyond that, but I wasn’t certain.”

Huron Contracting’s Tom Fitzsimmons said lack of inventory and high buyer demand has helped make new construction a viable option for developers. Fitzsimmons, an Ann Arbor builder, is constructing 18 condos on the former Greek church site on North Main Street.

Construction is underway on the building at 401 N. Fourth, part of Tom Fitzsimmons' condo project on the former Greek church site.Patrick Record | The Ann Arbor News

The demand for those units was higher than he even anticipated, and 17 of the 18 condos are already sold. The units range in price from the mid $400,000s to $1 million.

Fitzsimmons also recently proposed a 22-unit condo project on Kingsley Street in a partnership with Ann Arbor developer Peter Allen. Meanwhile, developer Alex de Parry proposed a seven-unit condo building for a car wash site on West Liberty Street.

Fitzsimmons said he is waiting until the Kingsley Street project gets further along in the planning process before he starts marketing the units for sale, but he’s been contacted by about a dozen people interested in the condos.

“Between (2007) and now, there has been not much, if any, new product coming online,” he said. “So I think there’s just an imbalance between supply and demand, as simple as that. …When that happens, it tends to drive prices up.”

Fitzsimmons said there are different demographics of people interested in living downtown right now — from young professionals, to people moving to town for work and retirees.

“I think there are a lot of people moving into town, younger people taking jobs, or graduates of the University of Michigan who would love to stay downtown,” he said.

Although demand is high right now, Fitzsimmons is still cautious about how the market could change in the next couple of years. His company focuses on smaller-scale projects to ensure there’s a sustainable demand.

“In 2007, I started building six townhomes on Summit Street, and we thought things we’re going great. Really, in two months, things crashed across the board. …We always have to keep that in the back of our mind. For anything to go from a concept to moving people in, really is a two-year process in the city.”

Some downtown property owners are also exploring options for constructing condominiums atop their existing buildings.

The owners of the Running Fit building at 121-123 E. Liberty St. proposed an addition that would include six housing units. Just around the corner, the new owners of the building at 210-216 S. Fourth Ave. want to add roughly 30 condos or apartments as part of a redevelopment of the property.

Detlor, who is preparing to move into his Liberty Lofts condo later this spring, called the downtown Ann Arbor condo market “really hot and really expensive.” He said he wanted to live in a city where he could walk a few blocks to grab a cup of coffee, a martini and a great meal.

“Downtown Ann Arbor, everybody wants to live there. It’s just amazing,” he said.

Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at 734-623-2584, email her lizzyalfs@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.